They might not need quite a similar finish to keep longest playoff streak in major North American pro sports alive and that’s fine with forward Pavel Datsyuk.

The Wings lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 Saturday night, but still own the first wildcard slot and have a four-point edge over the ninth-place New Jersey Devils with four games to go.

“If you ask me if I like it, it’s no. I don’t like this one. But it’s life and we need to go through it,” said Datsyuk, playing his second game back after missing 16 games with a suspected knee injury.

“For us the last four games, it’s the second season in a row they’re like playoff games. It’s better for us that the playoffs start early. We’ll be ready when the real playoffs start.”